Interview “The grounding of my work is the participation of the public” Light and movement “Pulse GLOW is comprised of an array of 100 narrow light columns that vertically illuminate the façade of the Stadhuis building. Their intensity is entirely modulated by a sensor that measures the heart rate of participants, so that each spotlight flashes to the rhythm of a different pulse recording. The resulting effect is the visualization of vital signs, arguably our most symbolic biometric, in an urban scale. As a new participant holds the sensor, his or her recording will move to the closest light and push all existing recordings down the row of spotlights on the façade of the building. At any given time, the façade will show the recordings from the most recent 100 participants. The piece intends to transform public space into a fleeting architecture of light and movement”. Inspiration “When my wife was pregnant with twins we listened to their hearts beating simultaneously, like minimalist music. I wanted to expand that into something that could be appreciated visually. I was also inspired by the film ‘Macario’ (1960) by Roberto Gavaldón, in which the protagonist has a hunger-induced hallucination where every person on Earth is represented by a flickering candle. In Pulse GLOW you see the flicker of people who have left their hearts behind. The piece is meant to amplify intimate biometric data into an abstract collective representation. It’s by no means medical. The grounding of my work is not the history of the site, but the participation of the public. For me, it is a priority to create a social experience”.